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Oil spill emergency in Alabama, Mississippi
The southern US states of Alabama and Mississippi today declared a state of emergency due to the imminent threat of an oil slick approaching their coastlines,threatening an environmental calamity.
The southern US states of Alabama and Mississippi today declared a state of emergency due to the imminent threat of an oil slick approaching their coastlines.
Oil from a giant Gulf of Mexico slick began washing onto Louisiana shores yesterday, threatening an environmental calamity, as President Barack Obama called for a "thorough review" of the disaster.
With up to 200,000 gallons of oil a day spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from a ruptured well, the accident stemming from a sunken offshore rig may soon rival the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster as the worst oil spill in US history.
Officials declined to specify the size of the spill, which measured at least 600 squares miles on Wednesday when the US Coast Guard said oil was leaking at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day, five times faster than previously thought.
"This oil leak poses a serious threat to our environment and economy," Alabama Governor Bob Riley said in a statement. "With our natural resources, our businesses and our coastal communities in harm's way, Alabama can't afford to take anything for granted."
In his state of emergency declaration, Riley directed state agencies to assist communities affected by the oil spill and seek "the necessary state, private and federal assistance for the affected areas."
